in case you haven't noticed by my cats' names i am a bit enamoured by Russian names (and a few other things of Russian origin (it may be in part due to my Alaskan childhood)~in part due to the whole foreign/exotic air of it all~the idea of native peoples~my love for Fiddler on the Roof, Nabokov, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and all those guys, or i don't know what; but, needless to say, i am obsessed (i always wanted to go there too). In college i tried to take on the language but, due to illness, surprise, surprise, couldn't deal with the immersion style class that required constant attendance.So when i noticed this quiz on Liz's site how could i not avail myself of it?
| Your Russian Name Is... |
 |
and isn't it interesting that my last name in Russian is synonymous (is that the word?) for the vodka~can i collect any royalties for that~maybe just for the bottles i've downed personally?
Anyway, once i took the quiz, i realized i already had my Russian appellation; and it wasn't Varya Laryssa Smirnov~it was Katreenka Tudor (okay maybe not so Russian~but i had a whole back story to go with it, which a blogger friend of mine, who shall remain nameless here, could confirm~if he weren't nameless.)
So, when i was working at "The Bookstore" we were eventually forced to put our names on our nametags, and, of course, being me, not wanting to put my actual name on my name tag, i came up with "KATREENKA" (yes my own spelling~i have to be somewhat unique after all) i also came up with the story of how i came to be Katreenka (originally, i think for the day i met Ralph, but you know, i'm kind of souring on that now...so, i'll just tell you...)
The story goes...my parents met in some Russian literature class and there was this short story by Turgenev, or Tolstoy, or Dostoevsky, or maybe even a prose work by Onegin (neither of them can remember for sure) in which the main character was named Katrinka or Katreenka or something like that. And my parents got involved in this fierce discussion/argument/fight about whether she was a strong or a weak character or a put-upon character or a bitch or a victim or whatever and then the argument/slash discussion spilled out of class disgust/contempt/hatred turned into desire/lust/love and the rest was...well, if not history, then at least the naming of yours truly... Because i am the drama queen/fiction writer that i am i could go into a huge amount of detail about this class, this fight, this character, my parents, the romance that ensued, how neither of them remembered who exactly the author was, and my endless search for the short story (of course the whole thing is made up~and i'm 
adopted~not that that makes a difference with the name thing.) By the by, Tudor comes from Elizabeth and my obsession with that whole reign but that's another story...
adopted~not that that makes a difference with the name thing.) By the by, Tudor comes from Elizabeth and my obsession with that whole reign but that's another story...And Demetra came up with her own name...kind of...when she was but a kitten and i was flipping through my Gods and Goddess' name book i came across Demeter (a permutation of my own given name~by the by) and i thought..."how to Russian this name Demetri...Demetra...and the eight-week-old-kitten looked up at me and mewed as if to say,
"That's My Name."
And so it was.
And who am i (since that's her name and all) to change it? She's answered to it ever since.
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